When marketing newspapers, magazines and the like, at retail levels, the newspapers or other periodicals are stacked on a rack or stand for both storage and display to customers. Conventionally customers pick the newspaper or other periodical off the rack and present the newspaper to a cashier for purchase. Because so many newspapers and other periodicals are sold in this manner, the capability of storing large amounts of stock as well as properly displaying it is very important.
Traditionally, racks and stands for presenting newspapers and other periodicals for sale have included an open box, which is normally fabricated of metal wires or bars, or of solid sheet material. For a number of reasons designs having solid metal sides have lost popularity except when used as vending machines. When using the most popular open wire design, the wires are welded together to form five sides of the box, which is usually open at either the front or the top.
Unfortunately, such arrangements have certain drawbacks. For example, a rack made out of a wire frame often appears to be of cheap or flimsy construction. This perception can have an adverse effect on potential customers, who may look upon the product as not being worth the effort of a better presentation.
In many cases the wire frame rack is flimsy, requiring that the rack be located close to the ground in order to maintain the assemblence of stability. Because of this location, customers are often forced to stoop for the newspaper creating inconvenience and possible aggravation. Thus, leading to adverse feelings towards the product dispensed in such a fashion. Very often the wire frame racks are so flimsy that they do not long survive normal abuse, such as accidental collisions with pedestrians, hand trucks, bicycles or the like. Such accidental collisions are always likely in any public place. Since the wire frame structures are relatively flimsy, there are severe limitations on the amount of product that can be stored therein.
Because of the construction of the wire racks and stands, there is a tendency for such racks to deform, leading to hazards such as sharp edges. This condition can lead to additional difficulty since customers are often very casual when reaching into the rack to obtain newspapers or other periodicals. As a result, customers can be injured by the sharp edges or even accidental contact with jagged or warped sides of the rack which are not easily perceived.
Conventional wire frame racks are also awkward in that they are difficult to assemble and move about. In order to obtain the desired level of rigidity, wire racks often have to be secured to a wall, floor or other stationary support, thereby creating additional inconvenience for the vendor as well as possible customers.
Another type of conventional rack used for dispensing newspapers and other periodicals is a type having solid walls which are made entirely of plastic. Such structures are usually molded to form a shelf on which the products to be dispensed are supported. The plastic structure must be formed of sufficient strength to endure the normal abuse received by any piece of equipment in a public place. Further, the plastic newsstand must also be sufficiently tall to raise the newspapers or periodicals a sufficient distance from the ground or floor to properly display the product for sale. Racks of molded plastic are conventionally adapted to become much thicker and apparently more clumsy in order to support a newspaper display at the "eye-height" of a normal consumer. As a result, plastic racks and newsstands are often as awkward in appearance as the wire frame rack.
The required rigidity to support newspapers at a desired height in combination with an appealing appearance is found in the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,997 to Gollob. This structure includes wire shelves that slide into groves molded into the sidewalls of a plastic body. The free standing body is hollow and is formed by rotation molding. The stand is a very rigid structure, easily able to withstand the usual abuse of a public sales-location. The sidewalls extend only half way along the shelves, leaving the separately-formed shelves protruding from the sidewalls. As a result, the rack is strong and substantial while still maintaining an attractive appearance. The newspapers or other periodicals are presented for sale in an accessible manner. The plastic body is so molded to include groves having notches, acting as detents to hold the separately-formed shelves firmly within the groves.
The arrangement of the Gollob newspaper rack is limited to that determined during the original manufacture of the rack. Consequently, this rack lacks adaptability to a variety of different locations and presentations requirements. In contrast, a variety of presentation arrangements is available using the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,996 to Harris. This device is a holder for displaying articles such as pamphlets, brochures and the like. The holder is formed out of plastic or paperboard sheet and is foldable into a generally triangular section which defines a base panel, back panel and inclined display portion. A front pocket is united with the triangular section to define a front panel, side panel and forward extension of the base panel for insertion of articles into the front pocket section so that the articles rest against the inclined support of the triangular section.
While offering adequate presentation of the periodicals to be sold, the Harris device has many of the limitations of the wire newspaper rack. For example, the Harris display holder must be elevated by some structure. Otherwise, customers must stoop to pick up the articles from the floor on which the display holder is placed. Further, the display holder of Harris is somewhat limited in it's storage capacity, as well as it's display configuration.
A more adaptable newspaper display rack is disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. 242,751 to Wells. A central column is used to support a number of newspaper/periodical holders which are attached thereto. The arrangement of Wells requires that the central column be supported by radially extending feet, large enough to provide stability for a column capable of supporting radially extending newspaper racks. Because of this arrangement, there are severe limitations on the amount of newspapers, pamphlets or other periodicals that can be placed on each of the extending racks. Further, there are severe constraints regarding the amount of product that can be stored with this system as well as being displayed. While varying numbers of newspaper racks can be arranged around the central column, there are some other constraints with respect to the type of arrangement which is possible and the space into which it can be arranged.
Accordingly, despite the variety of different newspaper display and storage systems available, there is still an acute need for highly flexible newspaper display and storage systems for use at point-of-sale locations. Such systems must be flexible enough to fit into a variety of different locations and thus, must have a wide range of configurations. Such display systems must also be sufficiently adaptable to be arranged to accommodate a large number of newspaper and periodical types and sizes.